A $63 million proposed settlement was proposed in a North Carolina federal court over allegations that JPMorgan Chase bank overcharged servicemember customers under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

The lawsuit, originally filed in 2016, alleged the bank charged fees and interest, both improperly high, on servicemember debts. The class filed a motion for preliminary approval and Chase, who does not admit to any wrongdoing, filed separately that is does not oppose the proposed settlement terms. The next step is for final approval by the Court.

The case is Childress et al. v JPMorgan Chase & Co., et al., case number 5:16-cv-00298 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.


This blog is intended to provide information to the general public and to practitioners about developments that may impact Oregon class actions.

Sign up to receive Class Actions Blog posts in your inbox!


Fee

On July 29, 2013, Judge King, from the Southern District of Florida, approved a $55 million settlement between US Bank and a proposed class of over one million customers of US Bank, putting to rest a class action accusing the bank of manipulating debit card transactions to collect higher overdraft fees.

Continue reading “Court approves $55 million settlement in US Bank overdraft class action”

FeeU.S. District Judge William Alsup reinstated on Tuesday a penalty he first imposed in August 2010, saying the fourth-largest U.S. bank violated a California law that protects consumers against fraudulent misrepresentations.

Continue reading “$203 million verdict against Wells Fargo in excessive overdraft case reinstated”

Stocks and sharesJPMorgan Chase & Co has won a court order requiring plaintiffs’ lawyers pursuing a securities fraud lawsuit against it to disclose the identities of witnesses sourced anonymously in the complaint.

Continue reading “JPMorgan to obtain identities of confidential witnesses in securities class action”

FeeJPMorgan Chase and law firm Bickerstaff Heath Delgado & Acosta LLP are defendants in a class action lawsuit that was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.  The lawsuit accuses Chase of colluding with collection agencies and law firms to collect debts in excess of what consumers owed, debts already paid or for purely fictitious debts, and claims that the scheme allegedly enabled Chase and its co-conspirators to illegally collect hundreds of million of dollars from consumers. 

The action seeks restitution, interest and treble damages for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

FeeOn December 20, 2012, Judge King in the Southern District of Florida granted final approval to a settlement that provided $100 million in cash, and $52 million in future savings to the class because of a changed business practice at JPMorgan Chase.  The settlement was between JPMorgan Chase and its customers who were allegedly charged excessive overdraft fees when JPMorgan Chase switched its method for ordering transactions based on highest to lowest.

The Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund has been named, along with public pension funds from Arkansas, Ohio and Sweden, as a lead plaintiff in a proposed securities fraud class action against JPMorgan Chase & Co. over trades made by Bruno Iksil, known as the “London Whale.”  U.S. District Judge George Daniels in Manhattan ruled Tuesday that lawsuits against the bank should be consolidated into one class action.  The pension funds allege they lost as much as $52 million because of fraudulent activities by JPMorgan’s London chief investment office. Continue reading “OPERF named one of lead plaintiffs in JPMorgan Chase case”

On August 9, 2012, Judge Maxine Chesney, a federal judge in the Northern District of California preliminarily approved the $100 million class action settlement of the Chase Check Loan Class Action I previously wrote about on this blog. 

The Fairness Hearing is scheduled for November 16, 2012, where the court will determine whether to grant final approval to the settlement.  The court directed that notices should be sent to class members informing them of the settlement.

A former brokerage client has sued JPMorgan Chase & Co. for allegedly steering him and other investors to overpriced, underperforming funds to boost the bank’s fees and profits.  According to the complaint, JPMorgan falsely represented its financial advisers were operating under fiduciary duty to clients, while its bonuses encouraged the sale of proprietary funds.  The complaint seeks class action status.

The lawsuit, filed in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, follows a report about JPMorgan’s practices published on July 2 by the New York Times. Continue reading “Former brokerage client files class action against JPMorgan”

A class action lawsuit was filed on July 13, 2012 in the Supreme Court of the State of New York against JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPMorgan). JPMorgan, unbeknownst to its customers, has directed its clients into its own JPMorgan funds even when those funds were not suitable investments. JPMorgan did so to earn increased fees at the expense of their clients. As a result of Defendant’s conduct, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Manhattan district attorney, and officials in New Jersey and Delaware are investigating Defendant’s sales practices. All current or former JPMorgan clients who invested in JPMorgan mutual funds from January 1, 2007 through the present are eligible to participate in the suit. Continue reading “Class action filed against JPMorgan Chase”

Earlier, I posted a note indicating that Chase had settled the class action against it arising out of its check loan scheme.  On July 23, 2012, counsel for the plaintiffs filed a motion for preliminary approval, which disclosed that the settlement was for $100 million.  

As you know, the class action sought recovery from Chase based on Chase’s alleged breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing which applies to every contract. On behalf of the class, plaintiffs sought as damages from Chase a dollar amount which would reasonably approximate the value of the loans as promised (with the 2% minimum monthly payments), which class members lost at the time Chase unilaterally changed the loans’ terms. Continue reading “Chase settles check loan class action for $100 million”

The New York Times reported on July 11, 2012, that Baltimore has been leading a battle in Manhattan federal court against the banks that determine the interest rate, the London interbank offered rate, or LIBOR, which serves as a benchmark for global borrowing and stands at the center of the latest banking scandal. According to the article, cities, states and municipal agencies nationwide, including Massachusetts, Nassau County on Long Island, and California’s public pension system, are looking at whether they suffered similar losses and are weighing legal action. Continue reading “NY Times reports that municipalities are filing suits against LIBOR banks”

On May 25, 2012, Judge King in the Southern District of Florida preliminarily approved the $100 million settlement between JPMorgan Chase and its customers who were allegedly charged excessive overdraft fees when JPMorgan Chase switched its method for ordering transactions based on highest to lowest.

A Final Approval Hearing has yet to be scheduled.

On May 15, 2012, a shareholder filed a class action complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of common stock in JPMorgan Chase & Co. between April 13, 2012 and May 10, 2012 inclusive.

The lawsuit alleges violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that occurred when Defendants issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the losses and risk of loss to the company arising from massive bets on derivative contracts related to credit indexes reflecting interest rates on corporate bonds.  These derivative bets went horribly wrong, resulting in billions of dollars in lost capital for the company and billions more in lost market capitalization for JPMorgan shareholders. Continue reading “Class action filed against JPMorgan Chase relating to bet on derivative contracts”

On May 16, 2012, the parties advised the court that on May 11, 2012, with the help of the Hon. Edward A. Infante (Ret.) of JAMS, the parties reached an agreement in principle to resolve a class action filed by Chase credit card customers against Chase that I had previously written about on this blog.

About a year ago, on May 13, 2011, the District Court of the Northern District of California certified this case as a class action.  Chase credit card customers allege in the complaint that they were offered balance transfer loans or loans in the form of blank checks that were connected to their credit cards, but with different terms.  The plaintiffs also claim that the promotional rate loans offered by Chase had terms that were at low interest rates usually with APRs or interest rates set at 2.99% or 3.99% “for the life of the loan.”  Continue reading “Chase announces settlement of check loan class action”

Citizens Bank is the latest institution to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that banks changed the order of customer payments to increase the amount they could collect in overdraft fees. The fees are charged when customers, by writing checks or using debit cards, spend more than is available in their checking accounts.  Citizens Bank, part of Citizens Financial Group and a unit of the Royal Bank of Scotland, agreed to pay $137.5 million to settle the lawsuit, which was transferred by the MDL panel to the Southern District federal court in Miami.  Citizens Bank admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement, which must be approved by the court.  Based in Providence, R.I., Citizens has 1,500 branches in states stretching from New England to the Midwest. Continue reading “Citizens Bank settles excessive overdraft class action”

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Chase Bank USA, National Association and Chase Bankcard Services, Inc. in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, entitled Gerald Maher v. Chase Bank USA, National Association and Chase Bankcard Services, Inc..  The complaint alleges that Chase sent convenience checks to Chase credit card account holders, but when the convenient checks were used by Chase customers they were allegedly returned, denied processing or dishonored. Continue reading “Class action filed against Chase Bank by customers who used convenience checks”

According to a complaint filed in a federal RICO class action, Wells Fargo Bank and JPMorgan Chase charge homebuyers who go into default inflated fees and interest rates.  Lead plaintiff Latara Bias claims the defendants, including Chase Home Finance, service almost 20 million mortgage loans, approximately 25 percent of the home loans made in the United States.

The class claims the defendants use an automated mortgage loan management system, and subsidiaries, to “fraudulently conceal their unlawful assessment of improperly marked-up or unnecessary fees for default-related services, cheating borrowers who can least afford it.” Continue reading “Wells Fargo Bank and JPMorgan Chase face RICO class action”

The MF Global financial trading scandal reached Missoula on Monday when a group of Montana farmers filed a class action lawsuit to recover money they claim was stolen from their personal accounts with the New Jersey firm.  “When Jon Corzine bet the farm on some European sovereign debt, he was betting our farms,” Fairfield farmer Marty Kinker said during a news conference outside the Missoula Federal Courthouse.

Kinker is the lead plaintiff in the case against MF Global principals Corzine, Christine A. Serwinski and David Simmons, JPMorgan Chase and Co. and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.  Corzine was a former Democratic Governor of New Jersey and U.S. Senator. Continue reading “Montana farmers file class action against Pricewaterhouse and JPMorgan Chase relating to MF Global Accounts”

A class of JPMorgan Chase customers claims the bank and its affiliate Cross Country Insurance took millions of dollars in illegal kickbacks and “an unlawful split of private mortgage insurance premiums paid by JPMorgan’s customers” to private mortgage insurers.

The five named plaintiffs were purchasers of private mortgage insurance and claim JPMorgan spun a “captive reinsurance scheme,” in violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). Continue reading “JPMorgan Chase faces class action over illegal kickbacks”